Monday, March 23, 2009

A whole lotta noise, very less news

News reporting is fast becoming extinct. Instead slanted reporting peppered with liberal doses of personal views is now the norm. Political correctness demands conformity to the "secular" construct.

Shrieking opinion manufacturers raise enough din to drowns out real issues. Karnataka seems to be getting an awful lot of attention lately. It seems the "saffron brigade" breaching the south, much to the chagrin of the "seculars" predicting a Congress majority, has something to do with this. If one were to go by the reporting on Karnataka in the mainstream news media, one would think all troubles started only after the BJP came to power. A saffron connection is sought in every incident in the state. The alacrity shown in dragging the entire Sangh Parivar into controversy is sharply contrasted with the complete silence when facts turn inconvenient.

Any mischief involving anyone else but the "communal" folks is given a miss. Matters of grave importance such as illegal occupation of temples and historical structures, the growing threat of home grown terrorism, unscrupulous churches etc. are deemed unworthy of "secular" attention. Similarly, the serious threat to national security posed by unchecked Bangaldeshi infiltration, their aggression towards local people and take over of local lands, Churches dictating politics in the North East, foreigners becoming MPs are either only mentioned in passing or met with silence.

The Varun Gandhi incident is a good example of "secular" noise winning over issues. The BJP candidate made some serious claims during his alleged "hate speeches" in his constituency. His claims included molestation of underage girls, mass slaughter of cows, an unfair local administration. These are serious enough issues not to be sidelined. Yet no media house seems to have invested any time in verifying and unearthing the issues. The whole "hate speech" saga began after a convenient 10 to 11 days after the "communal" Gandhi said something "unsecular".

The Election Commission seems to have fallen for the "secular" trap in reaching to its conclusion. Apparently, it seems unwilling to go through the rigours of justice. It formed an opinion without verifying the allegations and without giving a fair hearing to the matter. However the Kidwais of the Congress seem to get away with their blatantly communal meeting with Muslim voters. This, perhaps, is a precursor to things under Naveen Chawla.